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. J.S.BAOK. STRINGED MUSICAL HAND INSTRUMENT.

No. 614,877. Patented Feb. 13, 1894.

UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

JAMES S. BACK, OF OTTAWA, CANADA, ASSIGNOR- OF ON E-IIALF TO GEORGE LEWIS ORME, OF SAME PLACE.

STRINGED MUSICAL HAND-INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 514,877, dated February 13, 1894:. Application filed October 23, 1893 Serial No. 488,844. (1% odel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES S. BACK, of the city of Ottawa, in the county of Carleton and Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stringed Musical Hand- Instruments; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had IO to the accompanying drawings, forminga part hereof.

My invention, which will be hereinafter fully set forth and claimed, relates to stringed musical instruments of the nature of guitars, banjos, bandolins, mandolins and the like.

The objects of my invention are a new instrument resembling to some extent a guitar, banjo, bandolin, mandolin orthe like, but differing from any such in shape, tone and convenience and also an interchangeable neck for the same and applicable to other instruments.

Figure l is a top view of my new instrument fitted with a short neck, with a banjo neck shown alongside of it. Fig. 2 isalongitudinal section of the same on line a cc, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same on line y y, Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4- is a view of part of the back, showing the neck plate. Fig. 5 is a section of the neck attachment on a larger scale, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the tail piece.

The construction of the shell is the ordinary one used in guitars and similar instruments, consisting of a rim Aconnected at the neck and tail ends by the end-blocks A and A and having the belly B and back 0, strengthened with ribs, secured to it by continuous corner blocks a. The outline or contour of the belly and back, to which the rim conforms, differs from other instruments and is oval, the larger end being the tail end as usual and its width and length are less than that of the guitar, the loss of body thereby occasionedloeingapproximatelycompensated for by the omission of a contraction known as a waist in the guitar shell.

I prefer to construct the belly B with a raised ridge Z), consisting of a narrow transverse arch, extending longitudinally from tail end to neck end, carrying the bridge B which is preferably made a fixture and provided with two sets of notches, one for the guitar strings and one for the banjo strings.

I also prefer to use double internal sound board D carried by a separate rim D secured to the end blocks AA". Said doublesoundboard runs from near the neck end and close to but not touching the belly to near the tail end sloping toward the back and then returns slopingtoward the belly again and terminating nearer the neck than the point from where it started. when this internal soundboard is used, two sound-holes B of smaller size are provided about centrally above the lower or longer end of the same near the neck instead of a larger one centrally nearer the tail end. This instrument may, however,

be made without said internal sound-board D and without the raised ridge Z) and still give good results and in such cases the ordinary sound-hole may be provided in the usual place.

E is the neck of the instrument which I prefer to make shorter than the ordinary length but which may be of the ordinary length, which I prefer to make detachable and interchangeable. For this purpose the neck is made with a plain butt jointc fitting against the neckend of the shell andadowel pin E is secured in the neck end of theshell adapted to engage a dowel hole 6 provided in the joint face e of the neck. A pin E" inserted in the cross grain of the neck end to strengthen the same is allowed to project a little below, to adapt it to engage an eye 6 in the projecting end of a plate E, secured to the upper end of the back 0 and further secured by a pin 6 passing through into the end block A. The neck carries the finger board E- in the usual way.

E is the interchangeable banjo neck with finger board E, the neck jointbeing the same as the one above described. The upper end of the shell which joins the neck is made 5 round, 6. forms the small end of the oval, in contradistinction to a pointed end or pear shaped shell (speaking of the shape of the belly and back only); this shape being adopted as it affords a better surface to make the IOC neck joint on two necks of diiferent width fitting equally close, which cannot be accomplished by an end which gradually curves into the neck or by one ending in a point;

F is the tail piece for the guitar'strings and F the tail piece for the banjo strings. Each is made with an end fbent down tolie flat against the rim A and provided with a slot f in the end to engage the neck of a pin or screw F" passing through the-rim into the end block A" and adjusted to allow the tail piece to slip readily on or off when the strings are slackened.

It is preferred that each interchangeable neck should be provided with a set of strings secured to a tail piece ready for attachment to the instrument, so that a change may be 1 hand instruments of a neck having a butt effected quite readily within a brief space of time. When the strings are slackened,vthe tail piece is readily slipped oifand the neck is then'easily disengaged from the dowel pins, while when the neck and tailpiece are in their proper positions, the tension of the strings keeps them securely in place, the dowel-pins preventing the parts from moving'outofposition.

I claim-as my invention 1. In anewstringed musical handinstrument the combination of an oval shapedflatbacked shell of smaller size than'a guitar with belly B having a. raised ridge b extending longitudinally over its entire length and'provided with' two sound holes near the neck, a double internal sound-board D carried by a separate internal rim D, a neck secured detachably by means of a doweled butt joint 6 and an eyed plate E secured to the neck end and engaging a pin-E" in the cross grain of. the

plate, substantially as set forth.

neck joint and a-tail piece having a'bent and slotted end engaging a-tail pin, substantially as set forth;

2. In a detachable neck joint, the combi- 4o nation of a butt face e having a dowel hole therein, a dowel pin E inserted in the neck end of'the rim and end block 'adapted to engage said hole,"a plate E' secured to the back 0 and end block A and having a pro- 45 jecting endwith an eye and a pin E" inserted int-he cross grain of the neck end parallel to the butt face and projecting at the lower end and adapted to engage the eye in the said 3. The combination with the shell of stringed joint fitted againstthe neck end of-the shell, the dowel pin E"inserted in th'e rim and en gaginga'dowel hole in said bu-ttface, the plate E securedtothe back under theend block and having a projecting. end with an eye, a pin E inserted in'the'c'rossgrain of the neck end and projecting below and engagingthe eye in] said plate, atail piece'ha'ving a'bent end fw'ith a slot f, a tail pinor screw F" in the tail end'of the shell adapted to engage said slot in the tail piece, and the strings secured to said tail piece and-the headof the neck, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I'ha'v'e signed in'the' presence of the undersigned witnesses.

JAS. S. BACK.

Witnesses:

A. TROWSE, B. HARNEY. 

